New Delhi:
Air India seems to go from one crisis to another. The Delhi Police showed a medical report on Sunday, which confirmed that an air hostess employed with the national carrier was assaulted in the cockpit while the flight was over Pakistan.
The incident has raised questions of safety as well.
Amid claims and counter-claims of the air hostess, who has filed a complaint with the police, what actually happened is still not clear.
In her complaint the air hostess claims:
She went into the cockpit to wish the pilot but there was a misunderstanding with him. She then left cockpit but was called in again. That's when she alleges she was abused, manhandled and assaulted. The air hostess also claimed she was injured in the assault which was later confirmed by the medical report. She also said that some crewmembers had witnessed the incident.
"Basically her complaint said that she has been abused, manhandled, and assaulted in an undignified way. So content of the complaint made out a case under different sections. We have registered a case. She was also medically examined and medical examination confirms that she has sustained some injuries," said Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police.
The pilots, however, have an entirely different story to tell. Sources say the pilots told the Air India management that the male crewmember did not follow set procedures and was pulled up by the Captain. An argument followed and that's when the airhostess intervened and to cover-up the episode the lady is making molestation charges.
The investigating agency is now looking into the veracity of the claims and counter-claims, but one thing is clear -- the mid-air scuffle between the pilot and the crew threatened the safety of passengers in the flight.
An inquiry has been ordered by the Air India management and till the investigations are over, all four have been grounded.